


The Meeting

by SassySnowperson



Series: Mara Jade Stories [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Choking, First Meetings, Fusion of Star Wars Legends and Disney Canon, Gen, Minor Lando Calrissian/Luke Skywalker, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28377894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SassySnowperson/pseuds/SassySnowperson
Summary: "Alright," Mara said, tightening her blaster holster until it sat snug against her ribs, then reaching for her jacket to shrug it on. "What do I need to know?"Karrde looked up from his datapad and gave a little shrug. "Not much, honestly. An old acquaintance asked that I take a meeting, to see if we had information on the location of 'some objects of cultural interest'. He was deliberately vague, but I think the meeting will be worth our time."Mara Jade and Talon Karrde take a meeting with Lando Calrissian...and an unexpected guest.
Relationships: Mara Jade & Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade & Talon Karrde
Series: Mara Jade Stories [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060385
Comments: 17
Kudos: 34





	The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> My wonderful beta [rosepetalfall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetalfall) deserves even more credit than usual on this one! In addition to cleaning things up and straightening the words out, she also wrote some of this one! I'll give you details in the endnotes, for fear of spoilers now :D

"Alright," Mara said, tightening her blaster holster until it sat snug against her ribs, then reaching for her jacket to shrug it on. She checked the fall of the fabric along her torso. The blaster, ideally, would be obvious to a professional, and invisible to a civilian. She thought she straddled that line pretty well. "What do I need to know?" 

Karrde looked up from his datapad and gave a little shrug. "Not much, honestly. An old...acquaintance asked that I take a meeting, to see if we had information on the location of 'some objects of cultural interest'. He was deliberately vague, but I think the meeting will be worth our time." 

"More of a business or pleasure sort of acquaintance?" Mara asked. 

"I don't see how it's any concern of yours," Karrde said, sounding snippy. 

Business turned pleasure, then, and it had probably backfired. Mara took her jacket off again and went to go get her wrist-sheath for a vibroknife. 

"It didn't end that badly," Karrde called after her.

"Uh-huh," Mara called back dubiously. 

When she returned, Karrde continued explaining while Mara tested the spring-release on her wrist-sheath. "Lando Calrissian is a businessman first. There won't be any trouble. Honestly, the only reason we're meeting in person rather than handling everything through comms is because there's apparently something sensitive about the artifacts." 

Mara grunted. "Don't like the sound of that." She decided she was satisfied with the fit of the vibroknife sheath and shrugged her jacket back on. "So why am I coming along?" 

"Because I might be wrong, and you are the most dangerous associate I have who is also capable of looking non-threatening." Karrde paused, then amended, "Mostly non-threatening." 

"So we're playing nice this meet?" Mara said. 

"Lando has deep pockets. He's paying for lunch at the Bellion Hotel and Spa." 

Mara whistled. "This job gets better and better." 

"I thought you might enjoy that, even though I know I risk losing you to their kitchen if the food is too good," Karrde grinned. 

For the last couple of years, Mara had continued to intersperse mercenary work with kitchen crewing. The main difference was that after their fateful meeting and Mara accepting a ride from Karrde, Mara kept circling back around to Karrde's organization, seeing if he wanted to offer her another short-term contract. After the fourth time, Karrde had exasperatedly sat Mara down and written out an ongoing consulting contract that let her come and go as she pleased, so long as she didn't actually skivvy off in the middle of a job. 

Mara realized she was dangerously close to considering him, and several others of his crew, actual friends. How unnerving. 

The Bellion was lovely, exactly the sort of high-class luxury she had allowed herself to develop a taste for. It was fancy enough that she had opted for her business jacket instead of her beat-up leather jacket. They still gave her a little side-eye for not quite being formal enough. But Karrde brandished their _reservation_ and the arrogant maître d' allowed them through. 

They were early, as usual, and Mara did a visual sweep for threats and exits. It was second nature, and next to her, she knew Karrde was doing the same. They slid into their seats out of practiced habit, too: Mara with her right hand on the outside, Karrde with his left, both of them with a clear view of the door. 

"There he is," Karrde murmured, and jerked his chin in the direction of the pair of men entering through the door. Lando, Mara assumed, was the one with the sky-blue cape and the swagger. He seemed like the type Karrde would make bad decisions with. The companion didn't quite fit the bill. He looked too unassuming, black tunic over black slacks, nice boots, though— 

Mara had to fight down a gasp as the companion's Force-presence slammed into her. He was—what the _fuck_ was he? She hadn't seen power like that since—since Vader, since the _Emperor_ — 

He filled the room. That bland little slip of a man swelled with the Force, the Force, oh the Force _loved_ this one, Mara could feel the way it sang to him. 

Not good. Mara started looking for exits. This was going to get messy, and fast. She probably couldn't beat him. She was out of practice and he seemed like he was at the peak of his power. But—she had always been good at hiding, at surprise strikes. Maybe she had enough to throw him off guard, keep Karrde and herself safe while they ran. 

Surprise was her best and only chance. She lived with her Force-presence pulled inside of herself by default, another remnant of the training that taught her to blend in until she was able to strike. She locked it down even further now, layering it under a mundane person-sense. It wouldn't stop a determined probe, but if she was lucky, whatever this monster was wasn't accustomed to having enemies that could fight back. 

He didn't show any signs of suspicion as he approached their table, just gave a polite, friendly smile to Mara as Lando came around the table to do an elaborate cheek-kiss with Karrde. Mara managed a vague smile back—bored business associate, nothing more—and the two of them sat down, Lando across from Karrde, the Threat across from Mara. 

"I have to admit, I was curious when I got the call. You always bring me such interesting puzzles," Karrde said. "My associate, Mara Jade." 

"Pleasure," Lando said, oozing charm as he made a slight bow. Mara barely noticed him, all her attention honed in on the man at his side. If he acted, she would be ready. "And this is the reason I asked for the meeting in the first place. You may recognize him already—" 

"Lando," the Threat murmured in exasperation. 

Lando winked, and the Threat rolled his eyes a little. Lando continued, "But this is my good friend, Luke Skywalker." 

_You will kill Luke Skywalker._

A memory, the way her knees felt pressed against the cold marble floor of the Emperor's throne room, the rasp of his voice as he gave the order. This was the man. Somehow, in one day, this untrained backwater farm boy had brought the Empire to its knees. He had killed Vader and destroyed the Death Star; he had killed the Emperor and destroyed his Empire. 

In one day, this man had taken Mara's life from her.

There was a small voice in the back of her mind that pointed out that all that was also what had set her free. It wasn't loud enough to overpower the churn of instinct and anger that rattled through her mind. He had been Mara's to kill, and she'd failed to do it. Because of that, the Empire had burned. Layer upon layer of training that had been drilled into her since her earliest memories ignited and coalesced, and Mara struck. 

She lashed out in the Force, smashing into his mental defenses. She rebounded off of a shield of mental durasteel, a humming pulse of light that seemed, infuriatingly, to be mostly unconscious. Was this how he had brought the Empire to rubble? Defenses strong enough that even Palpatine couldn't press through? 

She had gone over every scrap of information the Empire had on him a thousand times over again—but nothing explained where he could have gotten the power, the strategy, to go up against the two most powerful Force-users in the galaxy and come out the victor. She should have known it was him from the moment she felt his presence. Of course _Luke Skywalker_ was the only person in the galaxy who would have that sort of power. (She should have known it was him from the moment she’d seen him walk through the door, but the holos she'd seen had all been distorted or blurry or made him look like a superhuman monster. Not this unassuming human with bright blue eyes.)

Across from her, Skywalker's eyes widened, and he sat up straighter, "You…" His mouth had fallen open, looking at her dumbly, like he was too stupid to even notice he was being attacked. "You're like me," he said, his voice full of shock, mixed with curiosity.

He put his hand on the table and leaned closer. 

Mara's hands were around his neck before she realized she had moved them. She could feel him, feel the flutter of his pulse between her thumb. This was the Jedi she had sworn to eradicate. This was the monster that destroyed the Empire. He was here, he was human and vulnerable, and his fragile life was finally hers to eliminate. 

"I am _nothing_ like you," she snarled, flexing her fingers and squeezing harder. 

She could feel his fear, pulsing like his struggling blood. And still, beneath that, his confusion, his wonder.

" _Mara_ ," snapped Karrde next to her. "This is _not_ the place!" 

Mara froze, her grip loosening enough that Skywalker could jerk his head back, gasping and rubbing at his neck. Next to him, Lando's hand was under his cloak, clearly grabbing for a hidden blaster. 

Mara curled her still-outstretched fingers into a fist, and pulled her arms back to herself slowly. 

Nine years ago, the Emperor gave her that order. It had been five years since she last followed any order of his. She was Mara Jade, trusted lieutenant of an information broker and occasional line chef. She had thrown her lightsaber out an airlock. 

Luke Skywalker didn't matter to the woman she had become. Killing him wouldn't make her life better, and choking out a Jedi Master in the middle of a fancy restaurant during a business meeting would almost certainly make it worse. 

Mara grimaced internally, before primly folding her hands in her lap. "Sorry about that. I overreacted," she said, inclining her head. A perverse streak grabbed her, and she added, "I had a difficult childhood." 

"It's fine," Skywalker croaked. His face was still red-flushed and his breaths came in gulping gasps. 

"It is _not_ ," Lando hissed. His hand came out of his cloak. Mara tensed, but it was empty. Lando slammed it down on the table. "Karrde, I don't know what kind of game you're playing—" 

"Lando, sincerely, I did not know that was going to happen. I believe my companion is distraught—" 

"—she doesn't look distraught, she looks murderous—" Lando snapped.

"—and she should go back to the ship. Immediately." Karrde said the last word meaningfully, jerking his chin at the door. 

"Are you going to be okay?" Mara asked. 

"Better than if my lieutenant goes choking out my _clients_ again," Karrde hissed. Mara didn't let herself flinch, but winced internally at the realization that she had let him down, badly. It would take a long time to regain his trust. 

"No," Skywalker coughed a little, holding up his hands and gesturing for Lando to settle down. The red had mostly receded from his face, and he took a deep, slow breath. "Really, it's fine, people tend to have a strong reaction to me." 

The look Lando shot Skywalker was dubious to the point of hilarity, but Mara couldn't enjoy it for long. Skywalker turned and held Mara's gaze. She could still feel him, fear falling and curiosity rising, and under it all a sweet hope started to wind through. His blue eyes were deep and piercing, and Mara was terrified of what he was seeing as he held her gaze. "Please," Skywalker said softly. "I'd like for you to stay." 

Mara gave a jerky nod. 

Skywalker turned his attention away from Mara, and Mara frantically grabbed at her mental shields and threw them back into place, locking away any hint of her Force-presence. That was—too much. Too close. She shouldn't—she wished she had been able to retreat in disgrace. But no, she had been invited to stay, and she would not run in cowardice. 

One thought refused to leave her, as she reached for her water and took a drink, trying to steady herself. Skywalker was _excited_ to meet another Force user. Even overt hostility hadn't changed that. How alone did someone have to feel, to find such comfort in even an enemy's existence? 

No. She may have decided not to kill Skywalker, but she wasn't going to start pitying him, either. His life was his business, and none of hers. 

Mara tucked her napkin into her lap and steeled herself for the dinner to come. 

* * *

Luke's blood still thrummed with a heady mix of excitement and adrenaline and danger as he and Lando made their way up to their room after dinner. Lando had gotten them a place in the spa, and Luke was grateful for it. After the eventful evening, he would have been crawling out of his skin if he had to confine himself to a ship for travel. 

He strode into the room and behind him, he heard Lando give a heavy sigh as he swung the door shut. 

" _That_ ," Lando announced to their opulent lodgings, "was a disaster." 

" _You_ ," Luke pronounced back at him, "are being melodramatic. That was wonderful. Not only do they know where potential Jedi artifacts might be found, we can hire them to come along on the finding." 

Lando groaned, loudly. 

"It's the best lead I've had in years, Lando," Luke said, opening his palms. "Thank you for setting it up." 

"Are you forgetting the part of the evening where you were nearly _strangled_?" Lando burst out, glaring at Luke. 

"No," Luke said. "I just think you're fixating on it. Like she said, she had a difficult childhood." 

"She tried to choke you," Lando pointed out as he bent down to take off his boots. 

"She did choke me," Luke replied, "but she didn't kill me, and that's the important thing." 

Lando paused with one boot off, looking up at Luke with a pained expression. "That is not as reassuring as you seem to think it is." 

Luke waved Lando back to his boots. "Mara was fine through the rest of dinner. I surprised her, that's all." 

"Oh, Lady of Fools and Children, have mercy on your son," Lando muttered as he got his second boot off. "He's going to get himself killed if you don't." 

Luke rolled his eyes as he turned to unbutton his formal tunic and toss it over a chair. He knew he _was_ underplaying the danger, somewhat. Having someone wrap their hands around your neck over dinner wasn't a normal occurrence. But Lando had only seen half the conversation, really. He hadn't felt the deep pain and fear that wracked Mara's presence. He hadn't seen the way she got herself under control, tucked herself so far away Luke never would have noticed her, if she hadn't already shown her hand. 

She had lashed out in surprise, and stopped when she caught up to herself. Luke was certain she wasn't going to attack him again. Which was why he had hired her as a guide when going artifact hunting, instead of just taking her information and acting himself. 

"I'll be fine," Luke told Lando, shaking his head a little. He reached down and slid his feet out of his boots before tucking them safely under the dresser.

"Right, because when someone chokes you, and then stops because it's too public, the safe and appropriate follow-up action is to invite them to go off to an isolated place with you." Lando whipped off his cape in an irritated jerk, but was still careful to hang it neatly on the hook by the door. 

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you." Luke sniffed and lifted his chin as he said the words, a parody of sanctimonious judgement. 

"Luke," Lando said, the bite falling off of his words. "Seriously. I'm worried." 

Luke walked back over to Lando, who hadn't managed to make it much past the entryway. Luke took his hand and tugged Lando into the room, and conveniently into Luke's arms at the same time. "I know what I'm doing," Luke said. "Trust me." 

Then he kissed Lando, and sort of hoped that would end the discussion. Kissing wasn't entirely new, between them, but their occasional flings kept getting interrupted by Jedi business, business business, or Han. Often Han. Having Lando to himself in an opulent hotel room was not a common occurrence, and he was hoping that Lando would realize that soon and have some ideas on what to do with it. 

Lando did kiss him back, slowly and deeply, his hands coming to rest on Luke's hips. Lando's touch always felt like an anchor, a reassuring weight that would keep Luke from drifting too far. 

That anchor line was abruptly cut when Lando pulled back abruptly. "Wait…" He leaned in, peering intently at Luke, and Luke couldn't help the little smile that pulled at the corner of his mouth. Lando's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you trying to distract me?" 

"Yes," Luke admitted. "I don't really want to spend the night with you scolding me. You're not changing my mind, and there are more interesting things we could be doing."

Lando sighed, and reached up to trail his fingers lightly over Luke's neck. "You're already starting to bruise." 

"Bruises heal," Luke reached up to trace his index finger along the shell of Lando's ear. "This will be worth it." 

This was the other thing Lando didn't—probably _couldn't_ —understand. The visceral, terrifying loneliness of being responsible for the Jedi Order, when he was the only Jedi. There was Leia, too, but she hadn't had the chance to learn any more than he had. They were learning together, but Luke ached for more. 

She might deny it, but Mara _was_ like him. She had power, and she knew how to use it. She wasn't a Jedi, but for all that she had attacked him, she wasn't anywhere near Sith, either. 

Luke wanted to know her better. He hoped that he'd be able to build some faith with her, and maybe they could learn from each other. He wasn't certain it would work. But right now he felt a wild, fierce hope, and he was determined to chase it.

"I suppose you've never been one to change your mind, when you decide something's the right thing to do," Lando said, his fingers tracing gentle lines down Luke's neck, to rest against his sternum. Just"—Lando's eyes flickered to Luke's mechanical hand for just a moment—"be careful, okay?"

Luke reached up with that hand and cradled Lando's jaw, kissing him briefly and sweetly. They had met on the worst day of both their lives, and had seen each other as broken as they had ever been. Their friendship, forged in fire, was unshakeable. It also meant that, out of everyone, Lando's worry felt the least smothering. "I will be careful," Luke said gently, "I promise."

"That'd be more comforting if I had any confidence you had a reasonable definition of careful," Lando said with a wry chuckle. But he swept Luke up in his arms again, and that seemed to be the end of the discussion. 

* * *

Karrde was quiet. Too quiet. He said nothing to Mara as they got up and left the restaurant, nothing on the ride back to the shuttle, nothing as Mara strapped down into the pilot's seat and pointed the shuttle on the hyperspace path back toward Karrde's flagship, the _Wild Karrde_. 

Mara stared blankly out at the streaking light of the stars, wondering if he was waiting for her to say something. He'd be stuck waiting, if that were the case. There wasn't anything Mara wanted to say. 

"Is working with Master Skywalker going to be a problem?" He finally asked. 

Mara felt her lip curl in disgust. Of all the arrogant decisions, naming himself Master after less than a decade on the job and practically no formal training— 

She forced herself away from that line of thought. It wasn't what Karrde was asking. She schooled her face back into neutrality, and answered, "No. It won't be." 

Karrde grunted, and didn't say anything else the hour-long ride back to the _Wild Karrde_. 

When they landed and disembarked, Karrde turned to her like he was going to say something else. Mara waited. But Karrde just flattened his lips and turned and started walking away. 

Good. He was her boss. He didn't need to understand her. He just needed to know if she could do the job. Despite her lapse in the restaurant, Karrde had apparently decided she could, and that's all there needed to be between them. Professionalism. 

"Damn it," Mara muttered. 

She strode forward and rammed her shoulder into his bicep. "Come on," she said, and turned down a hallway that led to Karrde's office. She could hear Karrde following behind her. She opened the door to his office (he had never given her the code, but he hadn't changed it after it became evident she knew it, either) and found his poorly-hidden bottle of single-cask, aged Correllian whisky. 

"Oh it's going to be _that_ sort of conversation, is it?" Karrde asked. His tone was much warmer than the clipped professionalism he'd shown on the shuttle. Mara relaxed a little, knowing she'd made the right call. 

Karrde was her boss, but he was also becoming her friend, and that meant he deserved to know a little bit more about her past. "Yep," Mara replied, pulling one cup down and filling it, and setting it in front of Karrde. 

"None for you?" he asked. 

"I'll drink when I'm done talking," Mara replied. 

Karrde nodded, pushing his cup back a little. _I'll wait until you're drinking too_ , said his body language. 

Mara took a breath. "I was an Imperial Inquisitor, tasked by the Emperor himself to kill Luke Skywalker after he successfully destroyed the first Death Star." 

In response to that plasmahammer-blow of a conversation opener, Karrde blinked at her. 

Mara closed her eyes and stretched out her hand. She hadn't used the Force like this in ages, pushing her will against the physical world. Both her training and her talent focused more on internal mastery: manipulation, misdirection, and personal disguise. But she still had power, and when she called, the Force didn't hesitate to answer. 

Karrde's cup slid back toward him, brushing the fingertips he had resting lightly on the table. Mara opened her eyes again. Karrde's pale blue eyes stared back. 

"Okay," he said shakily. He reached for the cup, and downed it in a shot. 

Mara nodded, and reached for the bottle. Karrde held the cup out again, seemingly on instinct, and Mara refilled it. "I walked away. I've been hiding it for years. I don't know if anyone in the Imperial remnant would remember I exist, but…always seemed better not to take that chance." 

"Uh-huh," Karrde toyed with his refilled cup, spinning it around, but not drinking it. "But you can still…" He held the cup in one hand and waggled his fingers at it with the other. 

"If Skywalker and I both had a lightsaber and went at it, he'd wipe the floor with me. I've got nowhere near his raw power. But if I had decided, five years ago, to fulfill the last order my fallen Emperor had given me, Skywalker would have been dead. I can hide. He'd never have seen me coming. I could have wormed past his defenses and scrambled his brain, or, hell, just messed with his danger sense enough that he wouldn't have noticed it when I poisoned him." 

"I have to admit, Mara, this is not entirely reassuring on the, _I don't want my clients getting murdered_ front." Karrde raised an eyebrow. 

"He's not dead," Mara pointed out. "He's _not_ dead, because I _didn't_ make that choice. I decided the Empire had died with the Emperor, and so did any obligation I had to follow their orders. I left, and never looked back." 

"A good point," Karrde acknowledged. 

"I think it's why I keep going back to kitchens." Mara had to force these words out. They were somehow even harder to share than her past had been. "Sure, the pay's better here, and the company too, most of the time. But while I'm definitely a killer, that's not all I am. And I'm making damn sure the universe doesn't forget it." 

Feeling horribly vulnerable, Mara reached forward and grabbed the glass out of Karrde's hand and drank it down. Quietly, her eyes fixed on the empty glass, she added, "Making sure I don't forget it, either."

Karrde reached forward and gripped her shoulder. He didn't say anything, but his silence wasn't cold, like on the shuttle. It was companionable, now, a reassurance that she was seen and heard and wouldn't be pressured to speak. She ducked her chin, feeling absurdly grateful. 

Karrde let go of her shoulder and plucked the bottle out of her hand. He refilled her cup, then went to go get his own. Once both glasses were filled, Karrde said conversationally, "Must have been a hell of a shock when he walked in." 

Mara bit out a rough laugh. "You don't know the half of it. Skywalker is a terrifying bastard when you look at him through the Force." 

"Let me ask my earlier question again, with slightly different emphasis. Are you going to be safe, working with him?" 

Mara hesitated, then nodded. "I don't think he wants revenge or anything like that. I think he's just…curious. And too trusting." 

"When you've got all the mysterious powers of the universe at your beck and call, I suppose you can afford to be a little trusting," Karrde mused. "Still, if you don't want to go with him, I'll back your play. Need me to disappear you for a bit?" 

Mara shook her head. "Luke Skywalker is none of my concern. If he lives, he lives, if he dies, he dies, and if he wants to pay me handsomely to go hunt artifacts with him, then I'll take him for all the money he's got." 

"Spoken like a true businesswoman," Karrde said, giving Mara a broad smile. He held his glass up for a toast. 

Mara clinked her glass against his. They drank. 

It wasn't entirely the truth, Mara thought to herself, as the whiskey warmed its way down her chest. But she had only barely stopped lying to herself, so she wasn't quite ready to stop lying to Karrde, too. 

She had called Skywalker curious. Mara was afflicted with the same vice. 

She didn't _want_ to be curious about him. She didn't _want_ to work with him at all. But if Skywalker was going to make sure their paths crossed in the future, then Mara couldn't help but hope that she might get some answers herself. Why had he killed the Emperor and Vader? _How_ had he killed them? Those questions had dogged her since the day the second Death Star exploded, and she had long since resigned herself to living with the unsolved mystery. 

Maybe she could solve them now. 

Then there were the new questions. What kind of person so quickly forgave attempted murder? What was hiding behind those bright blue eyes? And what had he seen when he stared at her? 

She was afraid of the answers to those questions. But she had never let her fear rule her. She wasn't going to start now. 

"Well," she said, steering her thoughts away from the uneasy questions. "Whatever happens, it'll be interesting." 

**Author's Note:**

> And they have FINALLY MET! 
> 
> So, when [rosepetalfall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosepetalfall) and I were brainstorming the universe together, she wrote a version of the scene where Mara and Luke meet...and then Luke promptly gets a little strangled. I loved so much of her first draft I shamelessly stole her words (or whatever the equivalent of stealing is when you ask permission and give credit). Particular credit goes to the "You're like me"/"I'm nothing like you" exchange, and Mara giving the hilarious excuse of, "I had a difficult childhood." Thank you rosie!


End file.
